VENTURA COUNTY NEWS

2 Slightly Injured in Sylmar House Fire

SYLMAR — Two people were injured Sunday in a house fire that was being investigated to determine whether fireworks were involved, according to a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman.

"There were reports of fireworks in the area just before the fire but the cause is as of yet undetermined," said Brian Humphrey, a department spokesman.

Firefighters received a call at 8:57 a.m. of a fire at 12901 MacNeil St. in Sylmar.

A smoke alarm had alerted three adults and two children in the house to the fire, and all initially evacuated the house without injury.

"They did not have a predetermined meeting place," Humphrey said.

A 45-year-old woman who lived in the house and a 33-year-old neighbor thought one of the children was trapped in the house, so they entered the smoke-filled structure before firefighters arrived.

The two adults made it back out of the house but suffered injuries due to "significant smoke inhalation." They were taken by ambulance to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, Humphrey said, where they were treated and released.

"That could have been a life-taking situation instead of a lifesaving situation," Humphrey said.

Thirty firefighters extinguished the blaze in 13 minutes, but the fire caused $60,000 in damage to the house and $30,000 in damage to its contents, Humphrey said.

The identity of the injured people was not available. An investigation into the cause of the blaze was pending.